Preemptive Measures

My mother died on June 25, 2002 of a type of lung disease called "interstitial pneumonia." She developed pneumonia and then it got in between her lungs and got worse. It is incurable. Her sister, Margaret, died of it in 1983 (the year I was born). My mom went to a specialist in Seattle even. We had four oxygen machines in our house that June. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through. My parents knew she wasn't going to make it but never disclosed that to my sister (who is five years younger than me) or me. In fact, my dad never speaks of her passing. I had a long talk with Gail (my step-mom) during break about what really happened. It was hard to hear. A few years ago I got a lung x-ray as an example of my normal lungs. I just ordered a copy of them so I have them on record to show my doctors. And I have to be very very careful when I get sick to make sure I don't let it get to my lungs. Sigh.

I miss my mother.

Christmasness

Christmas eve day Jesse (my step-sister) and I made the best apple pies ever (well it's a really good recipe and super fun and easy to make!). The evil step-sister, Kate, flew in that day and pretty much made it awful for everyone (that's another story- but needless to say she's not invited for Christmas ever again). Our power went out for a few hours Christmas Eve- which was interesting being 'in the wilderness.' Christmas was lovely- if we block out Kate. My family is crazy. :) The step sisters left the 26th, not speaking to each other.

Saturday Dad, Gail, Jessica (my real sister), Zach (Jessica's boyfriend), and Tim (Zach's friend) all went to a ski lodge for the day. Jessica and I attempted snowboarding. We didn't do too shabby...except when I fell off the ski lift (getting off) and bruised my tailbone! ouch! I had a lot of nice people help me learn to snowboard. :) Dad and Gail were going to go cross-country skiing but they didn't. They hung out in the lodge all day. The boys did all the crazy runs. Jess and I stuck to the bunny hill. Then we went back to the cabin for my famous enchiladas and pool games. Jess and I beat the boys! I somehow got pretty good at pool. We had SO much fun and laughed SO much. It was a great day. I am super sore today, though! :)

I've been at my sister's for a couple days...then Gail and I get to go to the spa on Wednesday!

Oh I got an update from Lucki on Mac (she's watching him for me while I'm away)- apparently he's really mad! I hope he won't be mad at me when I get home! Jessica has two cute cats and the little one went in my suitcase the other day and peed on a shirt!!! He must have smelled my Mac!

Back in the Northwest.

I had a blast today! Gail and I took the truck out to cut our tree- she had a permit. We saw some wild turkeys! Did you know they roost in trees? We saw them sitting in trees! We tried to find the area where we could cut trees, however, the access road was full of snow and we didn't want to try that. So we went into town looking for the one tree farm and then to see if there were any trees in town (not Spokane--Newport, super tiny place). Nope. So we called my dad for directions to the tree farm, and it was where we thought it was (which we supposedly drove by). Then we got on the wrong highway and stopped at "the Gingerbread Farm," because it looked cozy, to ask for directions. Mrs. Clause opened the door (okay so she was wearing a red apron) and let us inside (it smelled so yummy in there!). She had no clue where the tree farm was but her husband did. Then on our way out she gave us the most delicious red velvet cookies! Apparently it's a goat farm! And they put out the extra vegetables/fruit they grow for free out in their lawn in summer! Cool.

Anyways, so back on our adventure we pass the place we think the tree farm is on again and then come up to Muffler Bob's Shop. We inquired there for the tree farm. He told us they picked up and left town! What? Lame. We told him we had a permit and he then offered his 16 acres for us to cut a tree! So we did! We found the perfect tree and shoveled away the snow and Gail did the saw-work... Success! We're going to decorate it tomorrow!

This whole process took like 4 hours or so! I got TONS of chat time with Gail! It was wonderful. Jesse, her step-daughter got in town yesterday but refused to come with us to cut the tree. Her loss! We had so much fun!

Then tonight we went to the gym (spin class is intense!) and then made homemade raviolis! So fun! I want a pasta maker! It's so easy!!!!

Breakfast at Tiffany's

That's what I'm watching right now. It's been a very girly, me-time week for me. My to-do list never ends (because I like crossing things off)...so I feel pretty accomplished. Not like I-won-the-Noble-Prize type of accomplished, just the hey-you-have-taken-care-of-a-lot-of-semi-important-things type productive. Such as make yams, clean kitchen (multiple times since I cooked a lot this week), do laundry, wrap Christmas gifts (yes I am ALL done with shopping!), buy an album on iTunes, put up Christmas decorations (how stinkin' fun!), bathe Mac, blog, go to Express to get new sweaters, organize closet, update my phone numbers and addresses, go to the library, file papers, make a work-out binder (from things from Self and Shape magazines) and a recipe binder (from Real Simple and Self) and a creative things binder (from Real Simple- a fabulous magazine), paint nails, watch Everybody Love Raymond, and so forth. Needless to say, semi-important. :) I also have a school-to-do list but I don't feel like thinking about that right now.

Turkey Day was fan-tabulous. There were a dozen of us who went to AJ's house and we all contributed. I made my grandma's famous yams and peaches. They were a hit! The food was all so good- we had so much! Then we 'watched' football and then we to see Bolt the new Disney-Pixar movie. That movie goes in my top three! It's SO funny and SO awesome! Rhino the hamster. Tee hee. I have great friends.

miss doe eyes

How does one bruise her lip? Huh. Guess I'm uber talented.

My glasses are so scratched that I think they are dirty 24/7. Not good. I don't get my new insurance until January.

This week has been eventful- ups and downs with my best friend- more ups and downs (of a different sort) with another. My life is never dull. Guess this week I have to learn forgiveness. And patience.

sleeping and smart girls

I feel like a different person from last week. More confident. More outgoing. Happier. And more rested---I have been off my sleeping pill for 4 nights now, going on 5! Amazing. Usually I cannot fall asleep at all without a pill, but now the 'study' shows that I can! That's great!

School this week was awesome. We launched bottle rockets (2L bottles with water in them and the pressurized with air (bike pump). They also attached an egg to it (as to use Newton's third log not to break it). It was quite adventurous- the first class was a trial run (I had never used it before). This poor kid got all wet and the rockets didn't really go far. Except at people for some reason...lol. It was pretty funny. Pretty funny.

I have finished my Gifted and Talented credit hour requirements. Remember that Smart Girl book I read? Yeah, well I'm putting it to action. I am making a Smart Girl club. Well, I haven't decided on a name. It's going to start with just my AP Physics C girls---sort of as a study group. Then I'll branch it out to other AP science classes and then to the PreAP girls I might have next year. The possibilities are endless--I want to boost their confidence in science and be a positive role model in their life. I want to encourage their goals and get to know them better, too. The Dean of Instruction, my department head, and science specialist think it's a fabulous idea! What a great feeling!

On Saturday, Lucki and I got to go to Teacher Day at the Zoo! We got in free, and we got free lunch (Chick-Fil-A), and we got to go to some fun workshops, and spent an hour in the gift shop. Oh Lucki. I was very fun!

Anyways, here are some fun pictures.

Lucki's Bday
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2223835&l=3f386&id=17825146

Other Fun-ness
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2223837&l=21bc3&id=17825146

Weird poem from a studen'ts dad.

You are a teacher right? We are getting Flu shots here at work so would please grade my poem, "on a professional level," I made while at the nurses office. Here it is.

Kisses are loved

And kisses are hated

Kisses are no good

Unless they are tasted

But kisses have koodies

And koodies are hated

So kiss me my love

I've been vaccinated

What do you think?

my eyes are brown AND green...

Here's a funny kid moment---

JJ says, "Whoa, Miss, your eyes are like two colors! Brown AND green!"
Emily says, "Wow, your eyes are pretty!"
Manny says, "Oh cool- you must be wearing those cool contacts."
JJ replies, "Uh, she's wearing glasses, dude."
Manny then realizes that his comment didn't make any sense, "Oh yeah."

haha

on the horizons

I am doing much better- emotionally and physically. I am still trying to catch up on some sleep, but I am healthy and back in the groove at school. School has been quite good, actually. Courtney observed my class and said she was very impressed with how I questioned the kids. I am actually seeing the impact I make in these kids' lives. This kid, we'll call him James, has had a rough time this week because his grandpa is sick. His mom emailed me about it and told me he really admires me and loves my class. James and I were going to talk about it Friday afterschool but we had a pep rally. Anyways, I remember when I was in high school and went to Mrs. Gray (my chem teacher) when I was having a rough time my senior year and it just made a world of difference that she cared so much about little old me. It's so neat to be on the other side of that. Another cool thing is this kid, "Mike" was talking to me about his mom and how awesome she is. I emailed her some of the sweet things he said and she really appreciated that. :) One student this week told me she's totally surprised that I'm not married because I am "so pretty and so nice"...lol. And in another class we were discussing weight versus mass and we were calculating our weight in Newtons, so I said I weighed 125 lbs (which I did that morning!) and this girl was like "no way! I totally thought you'd way more than that!" haha. She didn't mean it to be mean, but it was funny. And awkward. :) Giving tests was stressful this week, oh well. My AP kids get a guest speaker Tuesday to tell them about careers in physics. I'm excited for that!

Lucki had a birthday yesterday- she's 24. Can't believe she's younger than me. It's hard to feel younger than anyone who's married. I made the cutest cake for her- it was pink and had a purple high heel shoe decorated on it. I got a cake decorating starter kit and tried out my skills. She loved it. We all went out for yummy mexican food and played games at her house. Lenny was in town, too- he's Stephen's best friend. He's fun to be around. Hooray for Lucki!

Church today was amazing. I got to teach Relief Society- about Knowledge. They asked me yesterday to teach today, but I don't need much prep time. :) And yesterday I went to the temple with Sister Mechum (her husband is in the bishopric- they have kids about my age). It was so lovely to go with her. We sat in the celestial room for an hour! And then we went out for brunch. It was so nice. She's my Houston Mormon mom (speaking of which- Margo- I still need your phone number!). It's wonderful.

All in all, I have learned a lot this week about happiness. I have changed my perspective on a lot of things and have been dealing with things differently than before. I am relying on the Lord and having more faith in Him.

I am worried about Grandma, who got hit in a car accident and has a few broken ribs! She'll be back home tomorrow, thank goodness. And my dad hurt himself the other day. Gosh, I hope they don't get worse! I love them too much!

sick days

I took Thursday and Friday off from school. Too sick and I sounded like a frog. I still do, but I am better. I have another day to rest, so that's good. Being sick makes me wish I had a roommate (other than a cat) because I'm so alone and no one to take care of me. Or to keep me sane. I'm going a bit stir crazy. I'm all stressed out about school- missing two days is a lot!